My favourite doctor once wrote a line I adore, and apologies to our family GP, but no Dr Ben, it wasn’t you. The doc I refer to is the good Dr Seuss. The line is as follows:
‘The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.’ And whilst I have absolutely no idea if it is true or not, it is a beautiful sentiment. It’s also a nice way to highlight a passion I have recently rediscovered – reading.
When I was a kid, I read all the time. Welsh author Roald Dahl was my absolute favourite. Reading his tales of cheeky children outwitting foolish adults always felt like a wicked pastime. His stories always seemed a bit naughty and felt like something I wasn’t actually supposed to be reading. Both mine and my wife’s love for his books are why our two kids are named Matilda and Charlie (two of his more likeable characters). When I was a kid, I could read his books well into the night. But then I got older… and I stopped.
Really cracking into my career in my 20s then having kids in my 30s was my focus. It just seemed like I didn’t have time. A little platform called Facebook also happened to be invented during this time, and stuff like that just seemed to fill the gap that books one did. But all that online rubbish is just like junk food; it gives you a quick hit of what you think you need at the time, but 30 minutes later you feel like crap. Books don’t do that. Books are like vegetables. They are less sexy in the moment but they really are better for you in the long run.
Last Christmas I picked up a Jane Harper Novel called “The Dry”. I didn’t put it down. Talk about a page turner. I loved it so much I immediately read her other three published novels. And I haven’t stopped. This year amazing authors like Dan Brown, Thomas Harris, James Patterson and Liane Moriarty have filled the hole Mark Zuckerberg once did. I have actually gone as far as deleting the Facebook app off my phone. And I have never felt better. Cheers to books for doing that. You have done wonders for my mental health.
And remember, in the words of the good Dr Seuss; “You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child”. Just another thing you can’t do with Facebook.
Cliffo Hit 103.1
